Wednesday, 22 July 2015

It's party time for King Philippe

It's not every day you get to celebrate your second anniversary as a reigning monarch. In fact, the club of people who get to do this at all is fairly limited to say the least. But when your big day co-incides with a national day then the party is much easier to throw. Which is why Philippe of the Belgians had such a good time on July 21st.



King Philippe of the Belgians with a wellwisher on the second anniversary of his reign
July 21st 2015, Brussels


It was always the intention once his father, Albert II, surprised everyone by announcing his own abdication in 2013 that the handover would happen on Belgium's National Day so that the change of kings could be a national event with everyone already off work to join the celebrations. It also meant that Philippe's anniversary as king would always be a party as his fellow country men and women have that date in their diaries every year for a party. And in 2015, the plan went perfectly.




The celebrations began the night before when Philippe and his consort, Mathilde, headed to the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels for a concert to mark the eve of National Day.





Alongside them were the king's sister, Princess Astrid, and her husband, Prince Lorenz. There was a striking absence of other members of the Royal Family this year - perhaps an indication that as the transition moves to history and the reign of the new king is firmly established the royal presence is slowly altering too.






The core of this new royal family was out in force early on the morning of Jul 21st itself as the king and queen, with their four children including heiress to the throne Princess Elisabeth, attended a Te Deum at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels.





The four young princesses and princes showed what a difference two years has made to them as they carried out a confident walkabout next to their parents. The decision of their grandfather to abdicate came when they were all still quite young - Elisabeth was 11 and the youngest of the family, Eleonore, had just turned five. But they have made plenty of public appearances since their father became a king and now the meet and greets seem to sit well with them.








The whole family also attended the military parade that took place in the centre of Brussels on the afternoon of July 21st. While Philippe kept his eye on the event, Mathilde kept her eye on the children often glancing across to make sure her little brood was coping with a long afternoon.




But there was no partying into the night for Elisabeth, Gabriel, Emmanuel and Eleonore as by the time the royals arrived at the 'fete au parc' which ended the celebrations mum and dad were by themselves. The royal couple spent several hours meeting people, listening to music and tucking into a rather spectacular cake.




Fireworks ended the day and, as they have been prone to do in their two year reign, the king and queen took to Twitter to thank the organisers for a very special national day. That popular touch, that determination to reach out to as many people as possible has stood Philippe and Mathilde in good stead in the years since they became a king and queen. And as they joined their country in a party that is all about Belgium they had their own reason to celebrate. Two successful years completed and a new way of marking anniversaries of reigns that will give them plenty of chance to reach out in years to come.
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